Sexual Harassment Training in California – What You Need to Know About SB1343

Workplace sexual harassment is a serious issue, one which no organization should take lightly. California is one of many states bulking up their sexual harassment training requirements. As of 2018, California passed SB 1343, which amended the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to add more requirements when it comes to sexual harassment training. Altogether, 92 percent of the state’s workforce, or about 15.5 million employees, will be impacted.

How does this affect the current regulations in place, and what do California companies need to do to comply? Here’s what you need to know:

What Does SB 1343 Change?

Since 2005, California businesses with 50 or more employees had to provide supervisors with at least two hours of sexual harassment prevention training every two years. This meant smaller businesses weren’t required to offer the training. But the new amendment changes that, and now companies with five or more employees on staff must provide two hours of training to supervisors. In addition, they must provide one hour of training to employees who are not supervisors, which was never required previously.

This rule even counts seasonal and temporary employees as part of a staff of five or more, meaning it affects small businesses that may only have a few permanent employees. The ruling also affects staffing companies that supply businesses with temporary employees, as those employees will likely have to get sexual harassment training at least every two years, even if they only work for a short time at a job.

This new law does not go into effect until January 1st, 2020 giving affected companies in California time to prepare for the newly required training.

How to Comply with SB1343

Over the next year businesses will need to take steps in order to meet the many requirements of SB 1343. Start by scheduling and delivering sexual harassment and discrimination training to your employees who meet the requirements outlined above as soon as possible. The new mandate requires that the following topics must be in your training courses:

The illegality of sexual harassment.

The definition of sexual harassment under applicable state and federal laws.

A description of sexual harassment, utilizing practical examples.

The internal complaint process of the employer available to the employee.

The legal remedies and complaint process available through the department.

Directions on how to contact the department.

Explanation of how employees are protected from retaliation after submitting a claim.

A link, or the web address for the sexual harassment online training courses.

The items above must also be outlined in a written notice that is delivered to each employee. Between the training courses and the hand outs, employees should have knowledge of what sexual harassment and abusive conduct are, how to file a claim if they are victim of harassment or abusive conduct, and where they should go for more information.

According to Senate Bill 1343, the training and education required is intended to establish a minimum threshold and should not discourage any employer from providing longer, more frequent, or more elaborate training and education regarding workplace harassment or other forms of unlawful discrimination.

SB1343 training requirements can be conducted in person or in the form of online training courses. If your organization chooses to provide live training, the training provider must have “knowledge and expertise” in harassment prevention, discrimination, retaliation, and harassment based on gender.

What if employees are not trained by January 1st, 2020?

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing will accept complaints from employees regarding lack of training in their work environment. If the DFEH finds that the law has been violated, they will work with the employers to get the organization in compliance as soon as possible.

How to Prepare for California’s Sexual Harassment Legislation Before 2020

In order to assist organizations with the new requirements, the DFEH has created a sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training toolkit. DFEH is also required by SB 1343 to provide online training courses on the prevention of harassment and abusive conduct in the workplace, but these courses are not slated to be ready for the public until late 2019. In the meantime, you can purchase harassment prevention training courses from e-learning experts like Inspired eLearning.

For more information on SB 1343 or to submit a harassment claim, visit the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s website www.dfeh.ca.gov.